How Purse First Is Breaking Up The Boys Club Of Hip-Hop Commentary
essence.comSesali Bowen was working on her memoir Bad Fat Black Girl: Notes from a Trap Feminist. As she reflected on her experiences growing up in what she calls “the bad b-tch era,” she realized that while queer and female rappers were having a moment in Hip-Hop, there were no podcasts to capture it.
So Bowen went about the business of creating one. She reached out to Pierre Phipps, one half of the rap duo Freaky Boiz, to help her co-host and the show, Purse First, launched that following January.
The phrase comes from a Black colloquialism which Bowen believes originated from street-based, sex work culture. The full phrase, “Purse first, ass last” speaks to the notion that the money should come before any of the fun stuff. “I decided to go with that as the name of the show because I think that’s the overall vibe of female rap right now.
It’s money first.” Bowen says.It’s also a commentary on the ways in which the work of queer and female artists has been diminished in more traditional Hip-Hop spaces. “When female and queer artists go on some of these other podcasts or radio shows, a lot of times the only thing that the hosts want to talk to them about is sex and sexuality,” Bowen says. “We are very intentional about not doing that.
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